I posted last night that my mom was placed in an acute psychiatric hospital last night as the screaming is not being caused by anything physical and the ALV won't take her back. The psychiatrist called me today and of course wants to start her on an atypical anti psychotic. He doesn't like seroquel b/c he says it increases the fall risk. His first choice is Latuda. I've searched latuda on the forum and no results come up. Choice 2 is Geodone or Abilify. My mom says she can't control the screaming... it just comes out and she doesn't want to be doing it. She said she feels confused. All of the above including seroquel scare me due to the increased risk. Mom is 85.

He also mentioned Depakote, which I don't like as this is the drug that sent my bi polar niece over the edge to overdosing. She was in ICU for 4 days. For the moment the Dr is putting a no antipsychotic notice, but I have to do something to help stop the screaming. I'm not sure what route to take, so any and all suggestions are much appreciated.

Heather in Orange County, CA

Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:34 pm

irene selak

Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 2:59 pmPosts: 1978

Re: Latuda for uncontrollable screaming

Latuda must be a newer medication as I have never heard of it before, I did look it up and it mentions a possible sudden drop in blood pressure that too could cause a fall problem too !

From what I know of Seroquel is, it does leave the system quickly after it is stopped if there is a problem with it, many take it and there are a few who can't take it, this why the medication question is really best left to the professionals !

What about playing some music for your Mom, do you think it would help? They say music Therapy works wonders for so many !

_________________Irene Selak

Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:48 pm

Julianne

Joined: Sun Aug 29, 2010 5:46 pmPosts: 610

Re: Latuda for uncontrollable screaming

Heather,

My mother went on Abilify and had a terrible reaction to it. Within a month, she could barely walk (Parkinsons-like suffling and freezing, which she had never done before) and her cognitive state deteriorated alarmingly. This was after her GP had diagnosed her with "dementia" and had her on Namenda, but her symptoms were mild enough that she was still living at home alone, though with significant help from me.

After the Abilify, her doctor admitted her to the hospital due to the alarming changes, and she was eventually worked up by the neuro department of a large teaching hospital with a dx of LBD. She never went home again, never returned to baseline (before the Abilify) and is in an SNF.

I suppose the reaction from Abilify helped get her diagnosed but it also caused a terrible downturn in her condition. Everyone is different but it might be good to exercise caution with Abilify.

Julianne

Thu Jul 12, 2012 1:54 pm

stepping_up

Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2010 7:11 pmPosts: 31

Re: Latuda for uncontrollable screaming/nuedexta

The psych hospital wanted to start my mom on nuedexta. I was able to speak with a neurologist over at UCI today, which is where my mom initially had her neuropsychological exam. She has a specialty in geriatrics and dementia and has agreed to see my mom. She agreed that nuedexta has been helpful and faxed over to the hospital a recommendation that they use seroquel as well.

The nuedexta is only dosed once a day. When I visited this afternoon there wasn't any screaming and a very minimal amount of odd behavior. This evening her behavior was very odd with some mild screams. One minute she was OK and the next she would start making weird noises and faces with a few odd laughs. You could almost see something strange fire off in the brain. She does not like the psych hospital and I can't say that I blame her. She does seem to understand that it's short term while she gets some help with getting the right medication that is safe to help her. Having a bi-polar niece on SSI/MediCal though, I have seen how ugly psych hospitals can be and in comparison, this place would be considered quite nice. I really like the staff and this tells me more than anything.

Her medium term memory is also starting to fail. She can still remember many things from 50 years or so before, but things from 30 years ago are not as solid. So much of my mom is just gone.

Heather in Orange County, CA

Sat Jul 14, 2012 12:44 am

labeckett

Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:07 pmPosts: 248

Re: Latuda for uncontrollable screaming

Oh, Heather, that sounds so sad, and so hard! I hope they are able to get her meds balanced so she is calmer and happier. Very tough.

My mother doesn't scream, but she moans/whimpers, sometimes more quietly, sometimes louder, mostly about every 10 seconds, unless she is dozing or talking. I have asked her if she is in pain, and sometimes she will attribute this to her hip arthritis. More often, though, she just says she is fine, no pain. "This is how I can tell I'm still alive," she'll say with a wry laugh. Yes, she still has a sense of humor, and she's still articulate, when she talks rather than just sitting passively. The moaning is very distressing to many people. I think it began, or at least became much more noticeable, when she spent 2 days in hospital and 11 in SNF for pneumonia about 4 months ago. The nurse said she did not seem to be in pain, judging from what she said and facial expressions, but that it might be a sort of self-soothing.

It's hard to see screaming as self-soothing, but maybe it is all connected to distortions of her communications somehow. I sure hope your doctors figure it out ; glad you have good people helping. Good luck!Laurel

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